Trianon Theatre at 72 N. Fifth St., San Jose. Downtown San Jose's historic
Trianon Theatre has been bought by the same developer who is attempting a
vast redevelopment of the old Vallco Mall property.
George Avalos / Bay Area News Group

Trianon Theatre

Performance area of Trianon Theatre at 72 N. Fifth St. in San Jose.
Downtown San Jose's historic Trianon Theatre has been bought by the same
developer who is attempting a vast redevelopment of the old Vallco Mall
property.
Trianon Theatre

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Trianon Theatre

Gathering area of Trianon Theatre at 72 N. Fifth St. in San Jose. Downtown
San Jose's historic Trianon Theater has been bought by the same developer
who is attempting a vast redevelopment of the old Vallco Mall property.
Trianon Theatre

Trianon Theatre

Lobby area of Trianon Theatre in San Jose at 72 N. Fifth St. Downtown San
Jose's historic Trianon Theatre has been bought by the same developer who
is attempting a vast redevelopment of the old Vallco Mall property.
Trianon Theatre

Trianon Theatre

Cafe Trianon inside Trianon Theatre at 72 N. Fifth St., San Jose. Downtown
San Jose's historic Trianon Theatre has been bought by the same developer
who is attempting a vast redevelopment of the old Vallco Mall property.
Trianon Theatre

SAN JOSE — Downtown San Jose’s historic Trianon Theatre has been bought by the same developer who is attempting a vast redevelopment of the old Vallco Mall property.

A group affiliated with Palo Alto-based Sand Hill Property Company has bought the Trianon Theatre, which is located about a block from San Jose City Hall and now hosts live musical performances, corporate events, weddings and other activities.

“Trianon Theatre is a prized community asset and a San Jose historic landmark,” said Matt Larson, a spokesman for Sand Hill Property.

The Sand Hill Property affiliate paid $5.2 million for the theater site in an all-cash transaction, according to Santa Clara County public documents that were filed on April 29.

Separately, Peter Pau and his company have launched a wide-ranging development in Cupertino that would replace the moribund Vallco Mall with 2,402 homes, 1.8 million square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet of retail and a 30-acre rooftop park.

Sand Hill Property also is widening its footprint in San Jose. In January, the Pau firm paid $146.6 million for El Paseo de Saratoga shopping mall in west San Jose, according to a property deed filed with the county.

Constructed in 1923, the Trianon building at 72 N. Fifth St. is two stories high and totals roughly 15,000 square feet.

The Trianon is the home of the San Jose Chamber Orchestra and the San Jose International Piano Competition.

William Binder, an accomplished Bay Area architect, built the structure, which originally was used as a place of worship for the Christian Assembly, according to the Trianon Theatre website.

“The building has been said to be the best example of classic architecture in San Jose and still looks exactly as Binder designed it in 1923,” the Trianon site stated.

Binder took inspiration for design of the building from Le Petit Trianon, a miniature chateau built in 1761 on the grounds of the Versailles palace. The tiny chateau was constructed for Madame de Pompadour, a favorite of King Louis XV of France, according to the Trianon website.

The main auditorium in the Trianon seats 318. The building also has a new Trianon Cafe.

“We are dedicated to preserving this beautiful building,” Larson said.

The involvement by Peter Pau in downtown San Jose suggests that a widening array of players are eyeing opportunities in the urban heart of the Bay Area’s largest city.

“This tells you about the level of interest in downtown San Jose,” said Mark Ritchie, president of Ritchie Commercial, a real estate firm. “A lot of people want to own property here.”

In 2017, Google revealed it is actively planning a big transit-oriented village of office buildings, homes, restaurants, shops, and parks where 25,000 people could work, including 15,000 to 20,000 of the search giant’s workers.

Within weeks, Adobe is expected to begin construction on a high rise that would dramatically expand its downtown San Jose headquarters campus of three buildings by adding a fourth office tower on an adjacent site.

Besides these major tech company expansions, a bumper crop of developers has begun to sprout in downtown San Jose, including venture capitalist and former eBay executive Gary Dillabough and veteran developer Jay Paul, whose tenants include Google, Facebook and Amazon.